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Piratopia
Piratopia '(Somali: ''Burcad Badeeda Gabaad, Arabic: القراصنة ملاذا), officially '''The Rogue State of Piratopia, is a glorious modern-day pirate haven, a state-within-a-state located within the claimed territory of the Federal Republic of Somalia. More specifically, it is situated to the northeast of the capital Mogadishu in the autonomous republic of Puntland. Its existence is largely ignored by the central government, which does not consider it to be an imminent threat to the integrity of the State. This is arguably due to the existence of the Islamic Courts Union insurgency (also known as Al-Shabaab) and other insurgent groups which actively seek to overthrow the central government. History Background The lack of central government oversight and regional government incompetency in Somalia has led to the ability of factions within the region to seize portions of the state with private militias, creating quasi-states which typically only have self-recognition as independent states. A Rogue State Piratopia came to be when a young soldier defected from the Somali Army and left for the more stable northern regions in search of a greater fortune for himself. An auspicious orator, he became a significant force in Puntland politics, arguing for a "hands off" approach for the fledgling democracy. Unable to sway the majority of the populace in the capital and largest city of Bosaso, he concluded to bring his rabid supporters into an armed struggle against the regional government, which reached a stalemate after he'd seized the cities of Alula, Gwardafuy, and the major port city of Hafun. Nobeard, as he was affectionately nicknamed by his supporters, then declared himself "Pirate King of all Somalia," and vowed to seize control of the entirety of Puntland, and eventually all of the State. He abruptly aligned Piratopia with the alliance of Arrgh!, a group dedicated to supporting piracy throughout Orbis. Politics The Politics of Piratopia take place within a vague framework of tribal alliances established by the Pirate King; Detractors have noted that it resembles a modern system of vassalage. The Pirate King controls the cities of Gwardafuy and Hafun through a tribute system, in which the tribal leaders from these cities are expected to pay a tax for the protection of his private militia, known as the Somali Freedom Guards. The Capital, Alula, is a small town situated on the northernmost tip of the Horn of Africa, and is ruled directly by the Pirate King. The Pirate King has an advisory council, which is comprised mainly of his original supporters from his days in Puntland politics. They vaguely govern such issues as Military Affairs, Economics, etc. The Pirate King is known for his "lasseiz-faire" attitude towards virtually all potential government services, preferring to take a "hands-off" approach to governing his territories. As a result, there are a variety of different policies in place in the various towns and major cities which he controls, which are typically enforced by whomever has the largest private militia in the respective town or city and can change on a whim when one group becomes larger than another. In one particularly grisly incident, the city of Hafun was taken in bloody force from one of the Pirate King's fiercest and most loyal supporters, only to be replaced by another fierce and loyal supporter when he realized how vastly he was outnumbered by the Guards. Demographics The citizenry of Piratopia is largely composed of defected members of the Somali Army, the Puntland Security Force, their families, and immigrants from other regions of Somalia. The rogue state has seen somewhat of an "economic miracle," and has become haven of stability and profitability at the expense of passerby merchant vessels along the Horn of Africa. The average weighted income is $14.50 per day, significantly larger than nearly every sub-Saharan African state. Many harken the state to the American Old West style in both lack of significant governance and frontier-type feel.